Four Weddings, Dozens of Ideas

Working the bridal reality show beat, you’ll notice that there are very few that I recommend as helpful, or even particularly entertaining. That’s because I find that most bridal reality shows are a) unrealistic, b) determined to reinforce negative stereotypes of the process, c) shaming to couples with tight budgets, and d) big on the generic over the imaginative.

Sure, there are exceptions. Sometimes there’s an episode of Rich Bride, Poor Bride that has someone with their head on straight, and I do find Don’t Tell the Bride both endearing and fairly rational. Up to now, that’s been the list.

Well, I’ve finally found another one I think has some real value to real-life brides planning their own weddings. Oddly enough, it’s a reality contest show. Seriously? It is. It’s called Four Weddings, it’s on TLC, and it still takes a tidge of digging to get to the good stuff, but it’s in there.

The idea is simple. Four brides are chosen to participate. They live fairly close to one another, and are getting married within a fairly short time span. Each bride attends the weddings of the other three and has the other three as guests at her wedding. The show provides no money, no planning help, nothing to the weddings themselves. Each bride continues to use her own themes, her own budget, her own imagination, her own taste, and her own combination of professionals and DIY skills to make her wedding happen.

The guest brides rate the weddings based on: the bride’s outfit, the venue, the food, and the overall experience. The bride with the highest aggregate score out of a possible 120 points wins a fabulous honeymoon in a surprise location.

So what is it I like about this show as opposed to every other one on my television?

Not only are these real weddings on real budgets (while I’ve seen budgets as low as $8,000 and as high as $70,000 on the show, the majority of these weddings run anywhere from $12,000 – $30,000, which is a pretty average range), where you can see what can be done in the real world, you also get a bird’s eye (or is that guest’s eye?) view of how people might react to your choices.

What will your average guest think if there’s no seating for the ceremony? Will your decision to wear a bright blue gown and dress your bridesmaids in white thrill or horrify the public? Do guests really care if there’s a favor or not? Obviously this show won’t tell you everything. After all, your guests (ideally) know you and are more likely than relative strangers understand your flights of fancy off the beaten wedding path. But it does give you a better idea of how your decisions affect the enjoyment of your guests. That’s an incredibly useful piece of information to have.

You might even get some ideas for fun projects or cool little touches to make your guests happy. And you’ll probably see a couple concepts to avoid like the plague.

Me? I learned that hiring live mannequins and a guy to blow a bubble around himself and dance in it… might not be the most popular choice of entertainment ever. No, really, one bride had exactly that entertainment. So in addition to some interesting ideas overall, I got a disbelieving giggle, too.

But you know what? If you see those live mannequins and decide that’s what your wedding reception is missing, you go, girl!

Check this one out. Get some ideas. Have a little fun. This one is actually worth an hour of your time.